I’ve always hated carrying stuff. I like to keep my arms free for impromptu dance performances and hugging people so I’ve always found handbags to be super annoying. This is one of the reasons why I love winter so much – I get to wear coats that are full of pockets and I don’t have to carry a handbag for at least three months.
I recently downsized my wallet (absolute game changer) and I’ve had no fewer than 5 different people pull their teeny tiny wallets out of their bags and show me how they ditched their huge purses in favour of slim lined card holders . I’m so proud. The next step is to downsizing the handbag. It’s a big step but I have total faith in you. Here’s how to do it…
1. Keep your wallet small
I used to be the queen of giant wallets but since I downsized, I wonder what the hell I was carrying around all that time. Follow these steps for downsizing your wallet. Big wallets will take up half the space in a small to medium sized handbag and it’s just not necessary.
2. Get a foldable water bottle
I admit it, they aren’t pretty but they’re extremely convenient. I don’t want to be lugging around one of those heavy and super fancy glass water bottles with a charcoal stick in it all the time. I always carry a Platypus soft bottle
3. 1 x lip balm and 1 x lipstick
Before I become Hand Bag Aware (it’s a thing, trust me) I could easily accrue a good dozen lip products in one bag and only ever use one or two of them. I now limit myself to one moisturiser product and one colour product. That’s it. I don’t carry any other make up in my bag and I never need to.
4. Stop carrying around a whole pharmacy
Again I used to be one of those people who had boxes of medication, tampons, pads, band aids and other such crap in my bag that I would use once a year if that, until the products become so beat up and worn that I had to throw them out. I now carry just two panadol and two ibuprofen in my handbag.
5. Only have every day items stored in there
I used to have notebooks, pens, diaries, journals and other such bullshit in my handbag that I never, ever used. It’s pretty silly to carry around things that you might need but rarely use. I used to have a sewing kit in my bag for ten years that I never used and then the one day I actually needed it, it got taken off me at the airport. So I bought a tiny sewing kit from the supermarket for like $3 and that was a much better solution than carry around an item that I needed to use once in a decade. Unless you’re travelling to the depths of the desert, you’ll be able to buy most of the things you’re carting around unnecessarily when you need them.
Tell me… what’s in your handbag? List ever item and I’ll tell you whether or not you need it. Go!
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23 Comments
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I’ve just downsized my nappy bag to a small cross body clutch. I have my essential cards (license, debit and credit card), phone, lipstick, gloss, a few tissues and keys in it. All the rest of the stuff like nappies goes in a backpack in the pram. It has done my back and shoulders wonders not having to lug around half the house like I used to! I don’t know what I will do when we don’t use the pram anymore.
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I have a small cross body bag and I absolutely love it. It’s totally changed my life… and it fits my laptop in it too!
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I’ve been a minimalist for quite a few years now. I use a bum bag instead of a handbag (LOL, I like being hands free) and this is what I carry in it: wallet, keys, phone, lip balm, panadeine and a spare tampon. That’s what freedom feels like.
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I think this my favourite thing you’ve ever said. I’m so excited about this bum bag situation. Can you write a post about it please?
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Currently in my handbag (which right now is the Guess Juliet Tote – I can fit my lunch in it too):
– phone (which is in a case that contains my credit and eftpos cards, driver’s licence, AA card and supermarket loyalty card)
– Kindle
– sunglasses
– car/house keys
– pen
– nail file
– comb
– lip balm
– tissues
– anti-inflammatories/pain relievers (I’m a bit of a cripple at the moment 🙁 )
– a card holder with all of the cards that I haven’t been able to get rid of yet (bus, library, gym etc) – if I could figure out how to do without these, I would.If I’m going somewhere local, much of the time I just grab my phone and go. But if I’m going to be out of the house for the day, the handbag comes with me
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Oh I do that too! I’m a real grab the phone and keys and dash kind of gal!
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I’m thinking of upsizing my handbag because I can’t fit everything in! I have a small make up bag (because I’m one of those lazy annoying people who does their make up on their train,) glasses, a pen, a small diary, keys, a work pass, nurofen, hand sanitiser, a big purse (still working on the wallet thing) and that might be it. My bag isn’t big but it isn’t big enough. What can I say? I’m a handbag hoarder. I think you should have your own TV programme – “Handbag Hoarders!” It has a cool ring to it, don’t ya think?!
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Oh man I’d be so good at cleaning out handbags… that should be a job for me. I wan to go to there.
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I have some pretty nice bags but prefer a clutch or backpack. Mostly I head out the door with a coin purse that has cash, a lippie, eftpos card & coffee loyalty card…that’s it.
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I’m the same! The smaller the better! I actually just crochet a nice little clutch!
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medium size purse, comb, keys, phone, sunglasses, small pouch with assorted pain relievers, antihistamine, rennies, small makeup bag with compact mirror, lip gloss,lipstick, bandaids, mini hand sanitizer, mini hand cream, nail file, bobby pins, safety pins, piksters. sounds a lot, but pretty much fits in any handbag i own. There is no hope for me, I know – I won’t tell you what’s in the basket I also take with me on the days I go to work! x
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Ha! Yes don’t tell me that… all these people carrying combs! I don’t think I’ve even used a comb. 🙂
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This is top of my Life Things: To Do list underlined with red pen. I recently won a bag on eBay, got it delivered to work and was all “I’ll swap that in right away!” I put my big ol’ purse, sunglasses case and cardholder wallet in and it was full. Not cool. The hunt is now on for the right slimline wallet to facilitate the downsizing of bag. However, nothing, I repeat NOTHING will stop me from an impromptu dance performance!
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Sometimes my dance performances include cartwheels… and it hurts to smash yourself in the head with a very heavy handbag. This is why I love pockets!
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I switch sizes according to the situation!
In my work handbag: phone, wallet, car/office keys, house keys, work pass, notepad, iPad, spare pens, gloves, business card holder, sunnies, water bottle, foldable shopping bag, tampons, biscuits, tissues, pawpaw ointment, spare batteries for my recorder, ventolin, hairbrush, measuring tape, teaspoon, bandaids, zipper pouch with store cards, breath mints. Also sometimes a spare phone battery and cord, and a digital recorder.
At the weekend or evenings I usually switch to a tote but put much less in it: phone, wallet, keys as required, sunnies as required, water bottle, foldable shopping bag, pawpaw, ventolin, hairbrush and store cards (if shopping). It has its own permanent measuring tape, USB stick and spare pens.
And for the football and sometimes the pub I’ll downsize seriously and take ID, a bank card, cash, house keys and my phone in a pocket.
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I fully support the handbag switch! I tend to do a bit of that too – I have a gym tote that I switch too sometimes. I generally only ever have lip balm, water, water, wallet, phone and headphones.
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Love itttttt, I change my bags about 5-7 times a week depending on where I’m going and what I’m vibing/wearing. On ‘work/uni’ days I lug around a big Zara carryall with loads of random shit, from snacks, change of shoes, 2 phones, laptop, handful of USBs, several different chargers and various different flavours of gum. But for my Chloe/Celine/Saint Laurent clutches I just have 1 chanel powder, a tinted lip product, 1 phone, keys, hand salve (doubles as lip balm – win). My favourite trick for when I know I’ll be swapping bags a lot is to put all the ‘essentials’ in a pouch, like a nice comme des garcon or mansur gavriel zipup, in it contains keys, bank card, chanel compact, lip balm and my phone. That way it fits into even my smallest bags and I know I haven’ forgotten anything ‘important’ when I switch between bags and if i’m just dashing to the shops or the gym i can just grab that and go. (this is all taking into consideration that my phone is permanently attached to my hand)
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I love how often you change bags! That’s commitment. I either have no bag, cross body tan bag or my backpack. That’s about it!
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Oh man I’m one of those people who carry my whole house in my handbag!
Just reading the title of this post made my heart beat a little faster.But I LOVE how you like to keep your hands free for “impromptu dance performances” and “hugging people”… they seem like pretty much the best two reasons to downsize!
My version of downsizing has been getting a crossover body bag for weekends. Wallet, keys, and lip balm and off I go…aaaaaand I can still break into a dance 😛
x Luciana
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Wallet; card holder for gift cards; mobile phone; makeup bag with 1 lipstick, 2 balms (one general & one w/ SPF), compact mirror, and mini mace; readers; sunglasses; and keys (car and house on one chain with library and loyalty cards).
My handbag feels so heavy. I would love to downsize! The sunglasses and the readers are musts!
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I should mention that my handbag is a crossbody bag, and that I carry a larger bag to and from work. That particular bag holds my lunch bag, a larger makeup bag (I do my makeup at work), and a notebook, etc. I don’t always carry that, so I’m not worried about downsizing that bag.
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So none of you ladies carry a book like I do? Limits the choices of bags a lot.
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